The Carter Fountain was gifted to the city in 1973 by local resident Hugh Carter who dedicated it to his parents. Unfortunately he drowned just days after it was installed.
Many urban legends surround the timings of the fountain but the truth is not quite as strange as the fiction with set hours of operation, and a wind sensor which shuts it down if the wind is at 10 knots or higher.
In 2004, the Council shipped in 22,000 tonnes of sand from Golden Bay to enlarge the beach areas of Oriental Bay, and the Freyberg Beach grass area was developed with a modern playground introduced. The Council project won numerous awards including The Supreme Award – New Zealand Institute of Landscape and Architects, and an INNOVATE NZ Gold Award.
Oriental Bay is now a bustling area with a population of 1,389 recorded in 2018, a popular destination for beach lovers and fitness fanatics – so it’s obviously a lot more appealing than when Mr George Duppa turned up on its fair shores!
For more nostalgia, visit our #ThrowbackThursday webpage.